AIGL hails stay on Madan trial

Deep Gazmer, TNN | Jul 17, 2013, DARJEELING: The All India Gorkha League (AIGL) party has hailed the Supreme Court stay order in the Madan Tamang murder trial proceedings, terming it as the right path towards the investigation. 

Pratap Khati, the AIGL general secretary, said, "The SC order is a positive development. We feel that it is a step towards a proper probe into our leader's murder." Tamang was murdered in the open daylight in Darjeeling on May 21, 2010, while overseeing the proceedings for a public meeting, allegedly by armed Gorkha Janmukti Morcha (GJM) activists. 

"It was complete in the part of the CBI investigating the murder case. We are not happy with the investigation and it is good that the SC has found fault in the CBI investigation," pointed out Khati. Initially, the CID was given the responsibility to probe the case. 

Thirty GJM supporters including party leaders were named in the chargesheet. The CID had even arrested Nicole Tamang, the prime accused, and a GJM central committee leader. 

But, Nicole escaped under mysterious circumstances from a government guesthouse in Siliguri on August 22, 2010 while being interrogated. 

The CBI took over the case after a plea made by the AIGL party in the court. In fact, they included the name of Dipen Mallay, a GJM youth leader and Gorkhaland Territorial Administration (GTA) elected member, in addition to the thirty names in the chargesheet of the CID. Mallay was also arrested later. 

However, the AIGL general secretary leveled charges that the even the CBI known for its independence had failed to deliver. "It seems the CBI team investigating the murder is a duplicate one. The CBI even failed to turn up in the district court when those accused arrested were being granted bail," said Khati. 

The SC has directed the CBI to reply within three weeks to the charges of negligence and has stayed trial in the district court for eight weeks, till the time the matter is settled. 

"We believe that the Indian judiciary is the highest. We are positive that within November, we will get justice," Khati said. 

So far of the thirty-one named in the charge sheet, twenty-eight have been arrested and released on bail while three are still absconding.